Brick-machine.



W. WAKEFIELD.

BRICK MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 20, 1913.

1 1@1,594, Patented June 30,1914.

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W. WAKEFIELD.

BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20, 1913.

1, 1 01,594; Patented June 30,1914.

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W. WAKEFIELD. BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILEDMAY 20, 1913.

Patented June 30, 1914.

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BRICK MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 20, 1913.

1,101,594. Patented June 30, 1914.

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BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILED'MAY 20, 1913.

L10L594D Patented June 30,1914.

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WILLIAM WAKEFIELD, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BRICK-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM WAKEFIELD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Brick-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to brick machines, the object in view being to provide a practi cal brick molding or forming machine which will operate to rapidly turn out complete bricks, the material being introduced to the machine in a plastic condition and the pressed bricks being ejected or delivered from the machine in a condition ready for the succeeding hardening process.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for regulating the thickness of the bricks made in the machine, so that any desired number of bricks of uniform thick ness may be manufactured.

with the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as herein fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of a brick machine embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through the machine. Fig. 4: is a vertical cross section through the machine taken on the line H of Fig. 8. Fig. 5 is a detail vertical cross section showing the presser wheel shaft and the presser wheels carried thereby. Fig. 6 is a detail vertical longitudinal section through the initial portion of the machine showing the means for controlling the feeder blades. Fig. 7 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 3 in line with the feeder shaft, the latter being shown in elevation.

The brick machine contemplated in this invention comprises a suitable frame which for convenience is shown as comprising horizontal side bars 1 and suitable supporting legs 2, the side portions of the frame Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 20, 1913.

Patented June 30, 1914.

Serial No. 768,788.

nected by additional cross bars and also by the several shafts of the machine to be hereinafter described.

The machine comprises essentially a revolving drum 6 and a revolving feeder 7, the said parts 6 and 7 revolving on parallel axes as clearly indicated in the drawings while the peripheral surfaces of said parts move in contact with each other or approximately so as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The drum 6 may be made of any desired diameter and length and is provided in its peripheral surface with a large number of brick-forming pockets 8 in which the plastic material is received and in which it is compressed into the form of bricks each of the pockets 8 being of the standard brick size. Slidingly mounted in each of the pockets 8 is a plunger 9 which is movable in a path radial to the axis of movement of the drum 6, the outer portion of said plunger fitting accurately within the pocket and serving to fill said pocket when thrust outward as shown at the bottom of Fig. 3 at which point the completed brick is ejected from the pocket and from the machine upon a suit able receiver such as an endless moving belt or the like, the latter not being illustrated.

As shown in Fig. 1, the pockets 8 are arranged intransverse series and a corresponding series of plungers 9 is employed for each series of pockets as best illustrated in Fig. at. All of the plungers of each transverse series are connected together for simultaneous movement and at the opposite ends of each series there are extensions or.

fingers 10 which are operated upon by presser wheels 11. The presser wheels 11 are mounted loosely on the opposite ends of a presser shaft 12 and as the drum 6 revolves, the fingers or extensions 10 come in contact with the peripheries of the wheels 11 which operate to thrust the plungers 9 outward toward the periphery of the drum a predetermined distance which is sufficient to effect the desired compression of the plastic material contained in the pockets, the final outward limit of movement of the plungers being illustrated in Fig. 3 at the point where the drum 6 and the feeder cylinder 7 contact with each other.

Each of the plungers 9 is substantially U- shaped as shown in Fig. i and embodies an auxiliary plunger ejector 13 which, as shown in Fig. 3, is mounted to reciprocate through an opening in the outer portion of the plunger. The stem 13 of each auxiliary plunger or ejector is provided at its inner end with an aperture or slotted head 14 while between the head 14 and the outer end of the main plunger 9 there is arranged an expansive spiral spring 15 which acts to retract the auxiliary plunger or ejector 13 after the same has been pressed outward for the purpose of ejecting a brick or pushing the same.

ofi the outer surface of the main plunger 9 in the event of the brick adhering thereto. The heads 14 of all of the auxiliary plungers or ejectors are acted upon by the flanges 16 of a series of ejector rollers 17 mounted on an ejector shaft 18, the shaft 18 being journaled in the oppositely located pendent arms 18 of a guide frame 19 hereinafter more particularly referred to and illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Mounted upon the opposite ends of the ejector shaft 18 are ejector wheels 20 which, as the plungers 9 arrive at the lowermost point of their movement, act upon the fingers or extensions 10 and serve thereby to press the transverse series of plungers successively until the outer ends of said plungers arrive at a point flush with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 6 as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, thereby pushing the pressed bricks out of the pockets 8. Just at this moment the auxiliary plungers or ejectors 13 act to press the bricks away from the outer faces of the plungers 9 thus insuring the detaching of the bricks from the ma chine and their delivery upon a substantial receptacle or carrier.

The material in the plastic condition is, delivered to the pockets 8 by means of a cylindrical feeder 21 which is illustrated in cross section in Fig. 3 wherein it is seen to comprise a cyllndrlcal body formed with a circumferential series of slotted openings 22 through which work a corresponding number of blades 23 which are shiftable backand forth in a direction radial to the axis of mounted on a shaft 24 parallel to the axis of movement of the brick-forming drum 6. The feeder is also provided with oppositely arranged heads 25 formed with radial slots 26 in which Work pins 27 projecting from the ends of the blades near the inner corners thereof as readily seen in Figs. 3 and 7. \Vhen the blades 23 are in their projected positions they form receiving pockets or chambers 28 adapted to hold the suitable amount of plastic material for the formation of one transverse series of bricks. The material may be fed into said pockets or chambers 28 in any convenient manner. Material is delivered to the feeder from a suitable hopper (not shown) arranged above and at the front of the feeder cylinder.

Mounted on the projecting pins 27 are rollers-29 which work in recesses 30 in op- 'positely arranged frame plates 31 arranged at opposite sides of the feeding cylinder 21 as best shown in Fig. 7 The major portion of the recess 30 is annular as shown in Fig. 6 and at a point adjacent to the periphery of the drum 6, cam sectors 32 are disposed across portions of the recesses as best illustrated in Fig. 6, the parts 32 acting on the rollers 29 so as to efi'ect a withdrawal of the blades 23 as shown in Fig. 3 just as the compression point is reached, thus preventing the blades 23 from coming in such contact with the face of the drum 6 as to interfere with the smooth operation of the machine and permit a transferring of the plastic material from the feeding cylinder to the pockets of the drum 6. Within the recess 30 there is mounted an arcuate guide 33 which is pivotally mounted at one end as shown at 34 and provided at the opposite end with a lever arm 35 by means of which the guide 33, which governs the path of movement of the rollers 29, may be swung on its pivot 34 to regulate the extent of outward movement of the blades 23 and thereby the quantity of plastic material which may be contained in the pockets or chambers formed between the adjacent faces of the blades and the outer peripheral surface of the feeding cylinder 21. The object in so varying the capacity of the pockets or chambers 28 is to provide for the formation of bricks of different thicknesses and also the use of dilferent compounds for forming the bricks, some compounds being compressible to a greater degree than others. The revolving drum 6 also carries means for varying the thickness of the bricks formed by the machine, the said means including pinions 36 mounted fast on a pinion shaft 37 which is j ournaled in hollow stud axles 38 extending inward from the side portions 1 of the frame as shown in Fig. 4. The pinions 36 mesh with racks 38 movable back and forth in guides 39 secured to the arms 18 above described. The shaft 12 is mounted adjacent to its opposite ends in slide bearings 40 movable toward and away from the meeting point between the drum 6 and feeder 21, the said bearings 40 being mounted on slide rods 41, which work back and forth in guides 42 forming part of the guide frame 19 hereinabove referred to. In. the preferred embodiment of the invention, the shaft 37 and the shaft 24 are arranged in the same horizontal plane while the shaft 12 vided at one or both ends With crank arms 43 fast thereon and illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. From one end of the lever arm 4L3 a connecting rod 4% extends: to an arm 45 of the thumb latch lever 4;. From the other arm of the lever 43 a connecting rod 46 extends in the opposite direction to a pivotal supporting link 47 which is journaled at 48 on the machine frame. From the same link 47 another connecting rod 49 extends to the arm 35 of the arcuate guide 33 above described. It is preferred to duplicate these connections at opposite sides of the machine as indicated in the plane View of Fig. 1, so as to insure an accurate movement of the parts when adjusted by means of the thumb latch lever 4.

It will be observed that when the lever 4; is rocked the crank arms 43 are correspondingly turned thus imparting a partial rotation to the pinion 36 and moving the racks 38 in a corresponding horizontal direct-ion and as said racks are attached to the slide bearings 40 the shaft 12 is moved in a horizontal direction for the purpose above fully set forth.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the drum 6 will be provided with heads 50 at the opposite ends thereof and the drum 6 and the feed cylinder 21 will be geared together for positive simultaneous operation by means of spur gears 51 and 52 as illustrated in the drawings. In order to insure the proper alinement between the gears 51 and 52, guides 53 may be provided as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 7, said arms being shown as secured to the side frame pieces 31 and working at their free ends between the gears 51 and the heads 50 of the revolving drum 6.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that as the throw of the plungers 9 is increased or diminished by a movement of the hand lever 4, for the purpose of increasing or diminishing the size of the brick pocket, the degree of projection of the blades 23 of the feeding cylinder is also correspondingly varied thus regulating the amount of material transferred to the drum 6 in accordance with the capacity of the brick pockets of said drum. It will also be apparent that motion may be imparted to the machine as a whole by driving either the drum 6 or the feeding cylinder 21 which may be accomplished by means of a belt drive or power shaft or gearing of any suitable construction and arrangement. It is also immaterial as far as this invention is concerned how the material is delivered to the feeding cylinder and how the bricks are taken care of after they have been ejected from the brick-forming pockets of the machine.

What is claimed is:

1. A brick machine comprising a brickmolding drum provided with brick-forming pockets, plungers working in said pockets, means for regulating the limit of inward movement of the plungers, a revolving cylindrical feeder working in contact with said drum, radially movable feeder blades carried by the feeder and means for regulating the degree of movement of said blades to accord with the regulated movement of the plungers.

2. A brick machine comprising a brickmolding drum provided with brick-forming pockets, plungers Working in said pockets, a revolving cylindrical feeder working in contact with said drum, radially movable feeder blades carried by said feeder, and means for effecting a simultaneous adjustment of the inward limit of throw of the plungers and the outward limit of throw of said blades.

3. A brick machine comprising a brickmolding drum provided with brick-forming pockets, plungers WOIking in said pockets, a revolving cylindrical feeder Working in contact with said drum, radially movable feeder blades carried by said feeder, plunger operating wheels, a shaft on which said wheels are mounted, means for adjusting said shaft and wheels to cause the latter to operate the plungers, and means for effecting a simultaneous adjustment of the outward limit of throw of the feeder blades.

4. A brick machine comprising a brickmolding drum provided with transverse rows or series of brick forming pockets, transverse rows of plungers working in said pockets, a yoke for each transverse series of plungers, a shaft carrying wheels which operate against the opposite ends of the yoke, means for adjusting said shaft to vary the throw of the plungers, a revolving cylindrical feeder working in contact with said drum, radially movable feeder blades carried thereby, and means for regulating the throw of said feeder blades.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM WAKEFIELD.

Vitnesses J W. TERRE, SAMUEL J. OLING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G." 

